A FICO survey ranked the UK fourth from bottom in terms of its use of mobile devices.
Just 17% of Britons are considered ‘mobile natives’ – those who interact with businesses via mobile devices everyday – according to the predictive analytics company’s research.
It put the UK ahead of the US (16%), Japan (15%) and France (12%) but far behind leaders China (51%) and Korea (50%).
The research examined 2,239 smartphone users across much of the world, considering consumer preferences and habits regarding interactions with banks, government agencies, healthcare providers, insurers, and retailers.
The survey also showed that despite Britain’s low ranking, UK consumers are more open to the idea of mobile interactions compared to other Western countries, with 41% finding the possibility of receiving bank alerts for overdue payments attractive, compared to 27% of French smartphone owners.
Hayley Kershaw, FICO MD for Europe, the Middle East and Africa, said: "Consumers are really the ones driving UK businesses’ adoption of mobile services.
"We see a great deal of demand, particularly in banking and retail, while the more forward-looking insurance providers are beginning to seize opportunities to use mobile channels to build customer loyalty.
"That said, businesses of all kinds need to build customer trust in addition to mobile capabilities, as British consumers are the second most reluctant population to divulge personal data, according to our survey."
